OC blanks Blue Jays, 35-0

OPELOUSAS – In a battle between parish parochial teams, Opelousas Catholic rolled to a 35-0 win over St. Edmund Friday at Donald Gardner Stadium.
Opelousas Catholic improved to 3-0 under the leadership of former Blue Jay head coach Thomas David.
The Vikings open District 5-2A Friday against Nortre Dame.
St. Edmund fell to 1-2 on the season for first-year head coach Andy Hargroder.
The Blue Jays entertain Class 3-A Port Barre this week.
“They never quit,” Hargroder said of his team. “They fought to the very end.”
After both teams punted to open the game, the Blue Jays were moving the ball after a 18-yard pass from Peter Miller to John Hull for first down.
St. Edmund then appeared to have scored first on a 53-yard run by Luke Doucet.
But a false start penalty erased the points and the Blue Jays could not score again against the OC defense.
“When we broke that long run and they called it back it was like a punch in the gut,” Hargroder said. “That really took the wind out of our sails.”
The Vikings were forced to punt on their first possession, but OC went on a nine-play, 80-yard drive to put the first points on the board.
OC quarterback Sam Jarrell connected with Adam Purser, Nick Mouret and Devin Theirry on tthe drive to move the ball deep into Blue Jay territory.
Kane Armand scored on a 24-yard run and Richard Hollier’s kick gave OC a 7-0 lead with 3:38 left in the first quarter.
After another Blue Jay punt, the Vikings moved 66 yards in six plays, sparked by a 26-yard catch by Purser.
After Jarrell gained four yards, Mouret scored from 17-yards out.
Hollier’s PAT pushed OC ahead, 14-0 with 11:44 remaining in the second period.
The Blue Jays recorded a first down on an 11-yarder from Peter Miller to Hull.
The drive stalled and then a low snap on the punt attempt gave the Vikings the ball at Blue Jay 32 with 7:49 left in the half.
Jarrell found Purser open for a 29-yarder and then Evan Moody scored on a 3-yard run.
Hollier’s kick pushed OC ahead, 29-0 with 4:04 left in the second quarter.
After a Blue Jay punt, it took the Vikings just two plays to move 86 yards.
Aramand ran 16 yards on the first play and then Jarrell connected with Purser for a 70-yard catch and run for the touchdown.
Jarrell then found Jack Sebastien open in the end zone for the two-point conversion to extend OC’s lead to 29-0 with 4:04 left in the half.
The Vikings forced another Blue Jay punt and then moved 57 yards in six plays.
Jarrell connected with Theirry for a first down and then found Purser open for a 39-yarder to move OC to the Blue Jay 3.
Moody scored on a 3-yard run and after the missed PAT, the Vikings held a 35-0 lead with 13 seconds left before intermission.
“They had a good scheme it what they were doing,” Hargroder said of the OC offense. “We couldn’t match up with their big receiver.”
The two defenses dominated the second half as neither the Vikings or the Jays could score points.
“I feel good about our boys not quiting,” the Blue Jay coach said. “We were down 35-0 at half, but the guys played hard to the end.”
St. Edmund held OC to just 20 yards on 12 offensive plays and three punts in the second half as the Vikings finished with 401 yards of total offense.
Jarrell went 9-of-13 passing for 254 yards with Purser grabbing six passes for 198 yards.
The Blue Jays had 129 yards of total offense and seven first downs against OC with Miller completing 6-of-7 passes for 67 yards.